Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

Faricy Explores Public Perceptions of Welfare via the US Tax Code

Tuesday, February 9, 2021, By News Staff
Share
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public AffairsResearch and Creative
professional headshot of Christopher Faricy, associate professor of political science in the Maxwell School

Christopher Faricy

In their new book, “The Other Side of the Coin: Public Opinion toward Social Tax Expenditures” (Russell Sage Foundation, 2021), Syracuse University professor Christopher Faricy and Bucknell University professor Christopher Ellis examine how public opinion differs between two types of economic aid—direct government assistance vs. indirect assistance in the form of tax subsidies.

According to Faricy and Ellis, U.S. economic expansion in 2019 was reminiscent of the Gilded Age—despite record low unemployment, income inequality had never been higher. However, even as more Americans would benefit from programs designed to address the gap, direct social welfare programs have not drastically expanded. The authors argue this is based in part on a lack of public support in the U.S. for direct government intervention and “big government” programs like Medicare for All.

Meanwhile, the authors find that the public is generally more supportive of indirect forms of government aid through tax expenditure programs—the “other side of the coin”—that do things like help Americans pay for the rising costs of college, health care and retirement. Social welfare programs delivered via the tax code, they argue, are more popular with voters as they are viewed as benefitting more deserving populations of workers and taxpayers without seeming like government overreach.

They find that tax subsidies are popular with groups that normally dislike federal programs such as conservatives, people with low trust in government and citizens who are racially resentful. Faricy and Ellis show that since most citizens have low information about policy, a tax subsidy signals that program beneficiaries are workers and taxpayers, and therefore deserving of federal aid.

Faricy is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His research interests include American politics, income inequality, tax policy and public perceptions on government expenditures. In 2015, Faricy was awarded a Social Inequality Grant from the Russell Sage Foundation for his contribution to “The Other Side of Social Spending: Public Opinion toward Social Tax Expenditure Policy in the United States.” Faricy also penned “Welfare for the Wealthy: Parties, Social Spending, and Inequality in the United States” (Cambridge University Press, 2015) which examines U.S. political parties, how they prioritize spending and how that exacerbates income inequality.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • New Program Connects Law and Social Work Disciplines to Assist Veterans
    Friday, June 9, 2023, By Valerie Pietra
  • ’Cuse Scoops Ice Cream Shop Now Open at Drumlins Country Club
    Friday, June 9, 2023, By Abby Haessig
  • Summer Snapshots 2023: Submit Your Photos for a Chance to be Featured
    Friday, June 9, 2023, By News Staff
  • Syracuse Libraries Supporting the Faculty Tenure and Promotion Process
    Friday, June 9, 2023, By News Staff
  • During PTSD Awareness Month Legal Clinic Helps Veterans Apply for Benefits They Have Earned and Deserve
    Friday, June 9, 2023, By Robert Conrad

More In Media, Law & Policy

Sean O’Keefe G’78 Joins Government Hall of Fame

Sean O’Keefe, a Maxwell School alumnus who serves as a University Professor and Phanstiel Chair in Leadership, was inducted into Government Executive magazine’s Government Hall of Fame during a recent gala at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. O’Keefe…

From Generation to Generation: Doing Well by Doing Good

The arrival of Michael Wohl ’72, L’75 on the campus of Syracuse University in the late 60s was inevitable. After all, his father and mother were proud alumni who literally placed a fraternity pledge pin in his bassinet. But it…

‘Infodemic’ Reporting Project Investigates Impact of Scams, Disinformation

The rise of scams and disinformation and its impact on society and daily life are the focus of a comprehensive reporting project produced by Newhouse School students. “Infodemic” includes more than 30 stories packaged with photos, videos, illustrations, audio, data…

A&S Graduate Student Advocates for Access to Unsanitized History of Kenya and Beyond

Joy Nyokabi Karinge was home in Kenya when she discovered that her grandfather had been tortured, detained and disenfranchised by the British for his part in the Mau Mau war in Kenya, a Kenyan revolt against British colonial rule in…

Comparing Voter ID Laws in the US and UK With Gretchen Coleman ’22 on the ‘’Cuse Conversations’ Podcast

There Gretchen Coleman ’22 was, enjoying a private tour of the House of Lords, the second chamber of the United Kingdom (U.K.) Parliament, that was led by a peer, a member who was passionate about election reform. The topic is…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.